which_chick | (no subject)

How's that conditioning thing going, now?

Tonight Mia and Olivia went riding in the upper field, round and round the fenceline. Normally we don't ride there but they did today so that they would be in easy reach for real conditioning when it was time for that. Olivia rode Copper again and Mia rode Roxy, a small grey pony usually reserved for timid, child non-riders. In case I was not clear, Mia is about a hundred and eighty pounds. She has no business being on Roxy. I have no real business being on Roxy and I'm lighter and can actually ride. Hundred and forty or so is the most I feel comfortable putting on Roxy, and that only for adult-picking-on-her schooling purposes.

They got done with the super-exciting field riding when Jaice and Kenzi got here. Mia informed me as follows: "I don't think this pony likes other ponies being in front of her. She plumb took off with me up the hill when Olivia's pony was in front." I says, "Mmm-hrm." Mia says further, "I want to take Roxy conditioning. I feel really secure on her." Again, I says, "Mmm-hrm."

We go conditioning. Trotting is going somewhat better. We trot out to May's and back on the rolling hill dirt road. Come to find out that Olivia and Mia are holding back and walking down the hills so that they can canter up them. This is not what "trotting the rolling hills" means and Olivia for damn sure knows that. *sigh* Mia asks if we will be playing jumps today. (No. We are not playing jumps until you have some stability in your seat.)

We get back. Roxy is (predictably) sweated up, huge runs of sweat down her hindquarters, belly is wet. She's tired and sweaty. I look at Roxy when the saddle comes off. "Wow, Roxy's really hot and sweaty. She needs to be held on grass (recall, we did this yesterday with Jessie and Nick so that she KNOWS what I'm talking about) until she's drier and you can groom her and put her away." Mia heads off with Roxy.

I proceed to hang up Nick's gear and get her grain. Nick's grain is half gone when Mia comes ditty-bopping up the driveway to the house, sans Roxy. Roxy has been put in the field. Says I, "Mia, did you cool Roxy out and groom her and put her up already?" Mia: "Sure I did, you betcha!" (or similar) That seemed a little fast for how long I thought it should take, so I waited for Nick to finish her Ulti-Yums and went to put her away. I strolled over to Roxy and took pictures of both sides of her. Yeah, she's a grey and the dirt/sweat shows up pretty well, but still. She wasn't sufficiently cleaned up and she wasn't let to graze until she was dry and I would have caught hell, back in the day, for turning a horse into the field looking like that.

So, everyone done and put away (Nick is typically last to finish her grain), I called Lala on the way home. I related the lack of clue from Mia and the repeated inability to follow instructions and the thoughtless treatment of the critters and the leading Olivia into temptation and the continued wanting-to-jump-stuff and Lala was "I will take care of it. She will not be riding with you any longer." YAY Lala.